# 2023-04-03 Nix team meeting minutes #46
**URL:** https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/t/2023-04-03-nix-team-meeting-minutes-46/27008
**Category:** Nix
**Created:** [April 5, 2023, 11:06am UTC](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/t/2023-04-03-nix-team-meeting-minutes-46/27008 "2023-04-05T11:06:51Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@fricklerhandwerk](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/u/fricklerhandwerk)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2023, 11:06am UTC](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/t/2023-04-03-nix-team-meeting-minutes-46/27008/1 "2023-04-05T11:06:51Z")
Attendees: @roberth @thufschmitt @edolstra @ericson2314 @fricklerhandwerk
## Agenda
- Discuss upstreaming the [DetSys installer](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/t/nix-installer-workgroup/21495/20) (45 min)
- [Reconsider `Raw` pattern · Issue #7479 · NixOS/nix · GitHub](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/issues/7479) (5 min)
- [Prioritize testing in the maintainers process docs by Ericson2314 · Pull Request #8039 · NixOS/nix · GitHub](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/pull/8039) (5 min)
- Small process PR that keeps on getting far down the triage board (due to alphabetized labels)
- Issue Discussion
## Installer
- @thufschmitt reports from installer workgroup
- proposal: try a modified DetSys installer as an experiment
- needs a few changes
- not clear yet who would do the job
- options:
- give green light and support for upstream PRs
- make it our own priority (would imply dropping others)
- call for contributors (continuation or successor to the installer workgroup)
- @fricklerhandwerk: actionable next steps?
- @fricklerhandwerk: look at the source together
- @ericson2314: should be a PR before we review anything
- @edolstra: gather more experience with new users
- @thufschmitt: make it an official experiment
- decisions:
- we agree to make it an official experiment, and put it out as an alternative installer, without guarantees
- the official experiment requires:
- Experimental features disabled by default
- Telemetry disabled by default or taken out altogether
- The source living in a NixOS GitHub org repo with designated maintainers
- Fixes from the DetSys installer are upstreamed into the NixOS org version during the experiment
- if only one intaller is properly maintained during the experiment we won’t have a good basis to evaluate afterwards
- we will come back to reviewing the actual code and making decisions on upstreaming based on the experiment’s results after two months after it begins
- we will consider bug reports and download counts to make the assessment
## Raw pattern
- @ericson2314 has learned of a new improved “raw pattern” that addresses the issues raised (verbosity, leaking names). Hopefully we can agree on it, and then he’ll convert all the existing ones to match it.
- [Reconsider `Raw` pattern · Issue #7479 · NixOS/nix · GitHub](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/issues/7479#issuecomment-1490977948)
- @edolstra: LGTM
- idea approved
- @ericson2314 will do refactorings based on the idea
## Prioritise testing
- @edolstra: increasing test coverage is great, but not sure if it should be a priority over improvements
- only improvements bring new users
- @fricklerhandwerk: we may want to ask ourselves if more new users is our primary goal. more contributors, and most importantly maintainers, are what needed to keep making improvements in the long run
- well-factored code and robust tests ease the way in for contributors
- @thufschmitt: the rules are supposed to be somewhat flexible anyway
- agreement: merge
## Discussion
- [Stuctured command stability by Ericson2314 · Pull Request #7611 · NixOS/nix · GitHub](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/pull/7611/files#issuecomment-1494186132)
- decision: only change the infrastructure for now, edit the prose separately
- @ericson2314 will fix up
- [Punt on improper global flags for now by Ericson2314 · Pull Request #7610 · NixOS/nix · GitHub](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/pull/7610)
- @fricklerhandwerk: experimental features should appear in the man page, instead of [being skipped](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/blob/a06ea8db77c5d4b0b6add9b9a8a10fb970418dee/src/libutil/args.cc#L240)
- @thufschmitt: can merge it and do a follow-up
- @ericson2314: agreed
- merged
- [Reorganise the Package Management chapter · Issue #7769 · NixOS/nix · GitHub](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/issues/7769#issuecomment-1497273752)
- idea approved
- [docs: fix nix-shell commands by milahu · Pull Request #7849 · NixOS/nix · GitHub](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/pull/7849#issuecomment-1497275570)
- merged
- [https://github.com/NixOS/nix/pull/7515#issuecomment-1497277987](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/pull/7515#issuecomment-1497277987)
- @Ericson2314 rewrote the PR based on the team’s requested changes, needs a different reviewer
- assigned to @thufschmitt
- [Handle use-xdg-base-directories for profile link by balsoft · Pull Request #7929 · NixOS/nix · GitHub](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/pull/7929#issuecomment-1497294262)
- should not invoke Nix to check the config option
- no decision, still to discuss
-[Track parsing and evaluation activities by jfroche · Pull Request #7247 · NixOS/nix · GitHub](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/pull/7247#issuecomment-1497299072)
- macOS segfaults in CI
- Concerning, frustrating
- [Finish converting existing comments for internal API docs by Ericson2314 · Pull Request #8146 · NixOS/nix · GitHub](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/pull/8146)
- Assigned to @edolstra
---
### Author:  [@blaggacao](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/u/blaggacao)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2023, 3:58am UTC](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/t/2023-04-03-nix-team-meeting-minutes-46/27008/2 "2023-04-16T03:58:16Z")
Since subflake locking is such a long running issue, I’d appreciate consideration of [this work-around](https://github.com/edolstra/flake-compat/pull/55) in the mean time.